Apparatus for stringing tobacco leaves



June 29, 1954 R. D. TOUTON APPARATUS FOR STRINGING TOBACCO LEAVES Filed April 12, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l F/T ENMR. RUSH D. TOUTON BY KM, pix

ATTO R N EYS June 29,, 1954 R. D. TOUTON APPARATUS FOR STRINGING TOBACCO LEAVES Filed April 12, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. RUSH D. TOUTON BY MA 1 ATTO R N EYS Patented June 29, 1954 critics *APPARATUS FOR STRINGING TOBACCO LEAVES .Rush D; Touton, Wynnewood, Pa.

Application April 12, 1951, Serial N o.*220,-618

2 Claims. I

This invention relates to stringing tobacco leaves. I

As is well known, when tobacco is harvested, the leaves are strung on lengths of string secured at one end to a lath, the'free end of thestring, after the leaves are strung thereon, is attached to the other end of the lath and the whole then racked up in a curing barn with the leaves hanging from the string for the curing of the tobacco leaves.

When the tobacco has cured,- the lathe are taken down, the ends of the string are out free from the lath, the tobacco leaves pushed together and the balance of the string may be be wound about the butt portions of the leaves and secured to form hands.

In practice heretofore, the stringing of the tobacco leaves has been accomplished manually by operators who string them by passing a needle,

carried by the string at its free end,-through the butts of the leaves. This operation is open to a number of objections," chief among which is variation in the number of pairs of leaves per lath, unequal spacing of the pairs on the string,

wide variation in the number oflaths strung per;

day by different operators, which results in a limited average production,.breakage of leaves due to inept operators, loss fromfalling leaves during curing resulting from improper stringing,

difficulty in obtainingrequisite-labor for a short procedure for the mechanical. stringing of tobacco leaves which would give a constant number of pairs of leaves per lath, equal spacing-of the pairs on the string and increased productivity per operator. 7

Generally speaking, the apparatus disclosed herein provides economical and uniform spacing of a consistent number of leaves per lath, the leaves being securely held by a pair of stringswith a minimum of falling leaves. The apparatus provides for securing leaves of tobaccoat spaced intervals between the strings,-which are secured together and to one end of -a lath, .by successively crossing the strings over and under one another, or crossing one string about the. other, between tobacco leaves, the butts of which are successively presented between the strings. :Moreparticularly,

the strings are so arranged .and manipulated that portions thereof will extend at rest for a period between crossings to enable successive tobacco leaves to be presentedbetween them.

The stringing .operationstarei generally carried out in the barns or drying sheds'zin which the .tobacco is to be stored. Itisrdesirable, therefore, that the stringing apparatus occupy. amin'irnum of floor space to allow-maximum space for the trafiic of handling the tobacco both before and after it is strung.

It is an object of the present invention to provide simple apparatusfor indicating to'the operator the proper spacing-between the tobacco leaves which are to be successively inserted between the strings.

t is a further object of this invention to provide simple apparatus including means which function as guides for indicating to the operator the proper spacing between the tobacco stems which are successively inserted between the strings and. also the degree or depth of insertion of the tobacco stems as they are successively inserted between the'strii'lgs.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent. from the-following description when read inconjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front-elevation: of apparatus e1nbodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a top view of the apparatus'shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view taken on:the trace 3-3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a View taken onthe trace4- 3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary showing of a portion of the apparatus shown in Figure 1.

Referring to the figures, the. apparatus includes the frameworkz. The horizontal shafts 4 and t are mounted in the framework by means of suitable bearings 8-. The shaft lextends outwardly of the right hand side framework 2 as viewed in Figure l and has mounted on the outer end thereof a sprocket M. vThe driving motor 152 drives the sprocket M bymeans of the drive chain and the sprocket 1-4.

The lath drive roller 5 is mounted on and driven by the shaft 4. The drive roller 5 is'made of, or surfaced with, rubber or other suit-able material providing a high .degree of friction on engagement with a lath. The member 3 is attached tothe frameworkeand provides a smooth backing member forthe "lathto slideagainst as it is driven bythe 'roller 5.

Alsomounted on and driven by=the-horizontal .shaft't .is the bevel gear [fie-which is in engagementwith the bevelgear wand-thus drives the vertical shaft-20 which-isrmounted in the framework 2 by means of suitable bearings 2I. Attached to the upper end of the shaft 20 is the eccentrically mounted driving pin 22 which, acting through the drive link 24, moves the vertical shaft 26 in a rotary direction by its action upon the eccentrically mounted pin 21 within the slot 25.

Vertical shaft 26 is rotatably mounted in bearings 28 which are supported by the framework 2. Attached to and rotatable with the shaft 26 are the mounting rods 32 which mount and support spools of string 34 and 35, the ends of the rods 32 being provided with the hinged lock member 36 for retaining the spools on the rods when the rods rotate with the shaft 26.

Mounted on the lower end of the rotatable shaft 26 is the string tensioning apparatus indicated generally by the arrow 33. As shown in greater detail in Figure 5, this apparatus includes the member 40 which is rigidly attached to the shaft 26 and rotatable therewith and the member 42 which is freely mounted on the shaft 26 and held thereon in pivotal relation therewith by means of the pin 44. Attached to the member 40 are the spring retainer cups 46 and 48. The pairs of cups 56 and 52, and 54 and 56 are supported by and freely movable on the studs 58 and 60, respectively, which are rigidly mounted in the member 42. The cups 46 and 50 retain the spring member 62 and the cups 48 and 54 retain the spring member 64. It will be apparent that the member 42 is held against the pin 44 by the action of the springs 62 and 64, and the force exerted between the cups 50 and 52, and between the cups 54 and 56 will be substantially balanced due to the pivotal mounting of the member 42 against the pin 44.

Mounted on the outer portions of the member 42 are string guides 66, 68, 10 and 12. The string leaving the spool 35 passes through the string guide 68, around the pin 58, between the cups 50 and 52, through the string guide 66 and downwardly, as indicated at 15. The string leaving the spool 42 passes through the string guide I2, between the cups 54 and 56, through the string guide 70 and downwardly, as indicated at '14. Lower ends of the strings 14 and. '15 are secured generally by tying to the lower end of a lath 16.

Also attached to the vertical shaft 26 and on a radial plane with respect thereto are the plates I8 and 80. Mounted between these plates on pins 82 and 04 are the rollers 86 and 80. Pivotally mounted on the framework 2 by means of the hinge assembly 90 is the leaf 92. Leaf 92 is so positioned as to engage the two rollers 86 and 88. The outer end of the leaf 92 is attached to the rod 94 which passes into the cylinder 95 and has attached to the end thereof within the cylinder a piston which, acting within the cylinder, tends to restrain the rate of motion of the leaf 92. The spring 95 acting between the leaf 62 and the member 93 attached to the framework 2 urges the leaf inwardly against the rollers 86 and 88. The leaf 92 is actuated by rotation of the shaft 26 and the rollers 66 and 88, and by the spring 95 is will be hereafter described.

The horizontal shaft 6 is driven from the horizontal shaft 4 by means of the spur gears 98. Rigidly mounted on the shaft 6 is the member I having four radially extending blades I02.

In operation of the apparatus, an operator will stand before the machine facing the apparatus, as viewed in Figure l. The operator will place a lath I6 in position back of the lath drive roller and secure to the lower end thereof the ends of the strings I4 and 15 with the strings bein in a position passing in front of and partially around the member I00. The operator then starts the drive motor I2. Operation of the drive motor will drive the horizontal shaft 4, rotating the lath drive roller 5 and causing the lath I6 to move downwardly.

Operation of the motor I2 will cause the shafts 4 and 20 to rotate, and the eccentrically mounted drive pin 22 will cause the member 24 to drive the eccentrically mounted pin 21 and rotate the shaft 26. It will be apparent, however, that, as the shaft 26 is rotated, one of the rollers 86 and 68 will pass under the leaf 92 bearing against the leaf and moving the leaf away from the shaft 26 against the urging of spring 95 as the roller moves into the position between the spring leaf and the shaft. As soon as the roller passes beyond an intermediate position between the spring and the shaft, the force of the spring 95 acting through the leaf 92 and against the roller will cause the shaft 26 to rotate more rapidly than the rate at which it is being driven by the action of the member 24. The slot 25 in the member 24 permits an overrunning motion of the pin 21 of the shaft 26 whereupon the shaft comes to rest when the two rollers 86 and are again both in engagement with the leaf 92.

The shaft remains in this position until, as a result of continued rotation of the shaft 20 and the drive pin 22, the eccentric pin 21 is engaged by one end of the slot 25 and the shaft 26 then driven for another quarter of a revolution by the action of the member 24 against the pin 21. Thus the combined action of the slotted member 24 and the rollers, leaf and spring assembly is that the shaft 26 is driven at a relatively slow rate of speed for a quarter of a revolution by the member 24 and then driven for the next quarter of a revolution at a relatively high rate of speed by the action of the spring 92 against one or the other of the rollers 86 and 63. This rapid motion is followed by a period of rest during which time the member 24 is moved until the pin 21 is engaged by one end or the other of the slot 25 in the member 24 whereupon the shaft 26 is again rotated for a quarter of a revolution by the action of the rod 24.

The result of this intermittent rqtation of the shaft 26 is to cause intermittent rotation of the string tension balancing apparatus 38 and of the strings I4 and 15 passing therethrough.

The lower ends of the strings "I4 and I5 are, as has been previously described, tied to the lower end of the lath, and the lath, which is being driven downwardly by the drive roller 5, draws string from the spools 34 and 35 through the tension balancing apparatus 38. The member 00 is positioned on a shaft 6 in such a manner that, immediately after the shaft 26 has come to rest with the strings substantially in a position as shown in Figure l, the radial blades I02 provide guide means for the operator in placing a tobacco leaf stem between the strings, the leaf being laid upon the horizontal blade and butted against the vertical blade.

It should be noted that the angle between the strings I4 and I5 is such that, as the tobacco stem is inserted in the apex of the angle between the strings, the strings cut into the tobacco stem forming grooves therein which serve to hold the stem between the strings after being placed therein and before the strings are rotated to insure permanent retention of the tobacco stem between the twisted strings, and to cut the outer fibers of the tobacco stem thereby promoting drying of the tobacco stem.

As the machine operates, the operator will place a leaf or a plurality of leaves against each blade I02 of the member I00 as the member rotates. The rotation of the blades I02 provides spacing and timing guides for the operator whereby the operator, being guided thereby, will insert tobacco leaves between the strings at the proper time intervals and at the proper space intervals, as well as with uniform extension of the butts of the successive tobacco stems above or beyond the strings.

After the proper number of tobacco leaves have been inserted between the strings as required to string a lath, the lath will be driven out of the friction drive roller and will be thereby automatically released therefrom. The leading end of the lath will come to rest upon the floor or on any suitably positioned catching means to hold the lath at rest while the operator grasps the lath at its upper end, cuts the strings l4 and 15, draws the strings tight and secures the strings supporting the tobacco leaves to the upper end of the lath. The vertical stringing of the leaves to a lath permits the use of less string tension to properly retain the strings during stringing than is required if the lath is extended horizontally during stringing. Since the leaves in the vertical stringing arrangement are substantially stacked one upon the other, they tend to support one another until the strings are fiinally secured to the upper end of the lath. The indentations in the stems are not fully formed until the strings are drawn tight and secured to the lath. This minimum tension requirement of the strings is an advantage when certain smaller types of tobacco leaves are strung.

After placing the strung lath on a suitable rack, the operator will position another lath behind the driving roller, secure the cut ends of the strings 14 and 15 to the lower end of the lath, start the machine and proceed to feed leaves between the strings which are drawn over the member I00 as the lath is driven down- I wardly.

This apparatus not only operates over a minimum of floor space, but has the further advantage of providing a comfortable working position for the operator. select a leaf of tobacco and carry it forward into the presented space provided by the rotating spacer member over which the strings are drawn while being intermittently twisted. If it is desired to place two leaves of tobacco between the strings in each position of the rotating spacer member, the operator will grasp a leaf in each hand and simultaneously carry the leaves forward into the spacer member.

While the invention disclosed herein is described as being a vertically operating machine, i. e., a machine in which the lath lies in a vertical position, it will be apparent that the machine may be rotated 90 and the lath be carried horizontally by the addition of a suitable guide means to support the outer end of the lath. While the horizontal operation of the machine abandons the beneficial feature of minimum re- The operator is required only to quired floor space, and must be operated with greater string tension, the various other features of the machine may be employed equally well in a horizontally positioned machine as in a vertically positioned machine.

It will be apparent that these and other modifications may be made in the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for stringing tobacco leaves on a lath comprising means for supporting a pair of lengths of string, intermittently rotating means for intermittently rotating and feeding spaced strings from said supporting means, means for driving the lath in a direction away from said intermittently rotating string feeding means, the ends of the strings being secured to the leading end of the lath and the strings being drawn through said string feeding means by the travel of the lath, and rotating guide means over which the strings pass while being drawn from said string feeding means by the moving lath, said rotating guide means comprising a member having radially extending blades, the speed of rotation of the guide means being such that the rotating blades provide guides for insertion by an operator of successive tobacco stems between the spaced strings between successive rotations of the strings by the intermittently rotating means.

2. Apparatus for stringing tobacco leaves on a lath comprising means for supporting a pair of lengths of string, intermittently rotating means for intermittently rotating and feeding spaced strings from said supporting means, means for driving the lath in a direction away from said intermittently rotating string feeding means, the ends of the strings being secured to the leading end of the lath and the strings being drawn through said string feeding means by the travel of the lath, and rotating guide means over which the strings pass while being drawn from said string feeding means by the moving lath, said rotating guide means comprising a member having four radially extending blades, said blades providing guides for insertion by an operator of successive tobacco stems between the spaced strings between successive rotations of the strings by the intermittently rotating means, said blades providing guides to both the spacing between successive tobacco stems and the degree of insertion of the successive tobacco stems between the strings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 16,452 Robinson Jan. 20, 1857 17,496 Dutcher June 9, 1857 1,071,654 Terry Aug. 26, 1913 2,156,652 Harris May 2, 1939 2,327,252 Dickerson Aug. 17, 1943 2,511,473 Kreeger June 13, 1950 2,538,698 McNeil] Jan. 16, 1951 2,571,003 Anderson Oct. 9, 1951 

